Digital reissue of sweet radio pop from the mid-70s
The DeFranco Family – a family act from Ontario, Canada – had several hits and a terrific run in ‘70s teen magazines. The fuss was centered on the super-cute Tony DeFranco, whose 13-year-old voice was complemented by his brothers’ and sisters’ harmony vocals, yielding a sound akin to the Partridge Family fronted by Donny Osmond. What made the records work were lyrics that Tony could croon convincingly to pre-teen girls, bubblegum hooks and sophisticated arrangements by writer/producer Walt Meskell.
The group’s debut album featured their biggest chart hit, “Heartbeat, It’s a Lovebeat,†but also several other pop gems. “I’m With You†has a clever circus beat (apparently supplied played by Wrecking Crew ace, Hal Blaine) and the throwback “Sweet Sweet Loretta†combines banjo, bass, and brass. The album’s second hit, “Abra-Ca-Dabra,†is a terrific piece of bubblegum, but the real sleeper is “Gorilla,†a song so sweet it will give you a toothache. You’ll want to make sure you have some time to yourself as the album closes with Tony’s special message to you, “I Love Everything You Do.†Sigh.
For those not paying attention to hard rock in the mid-70s, the terrific power pop of Starz’s third album seemed to appear out of thin air. For those who had listened to the band’s first two albums, Starz and Violation, the change in direction must have been a rude surprise. The band had always shown a keen sense of melody and even harmony vocals, but their riffing guitar jams and macho arena rhythms had been more apiece with Kiss and Aerosmith than the Raspberries. In retrospect, you can hear the change coming as the band’s lone Top 40 hit, “Cherry Baby,†opened Violation. The rhythm guitar had the richness of a 12-string, the lead vocal was softened slightly, and the chorus had the hook of an Andy Kim record. The remainder of the album, save the prog-folk “Is That a Street Light or the Moon,†fit more with the hard rock of the debut, but the dream of commercial success was clearly planted.
For their third album, the band produced itself and chased the pop sound that had garnered brief chart success. From the opening drumbeats of “Hold on to the Night,†the melodic twin guitar intro and the mid-tempo major key melody were a new direction that surely caused existing fans to blanch. Yet, anyone who was grooving to Dwight Twilley would have warmed quickly to Starz’ new sound, with the remainder of the album’s first side paying more dividends as the bands sounds like Bram Tchaikovsky, 20/20 and the Beat. Michael Lee Smith sings lovelorn lyrics without the macho strut of the band’s earlier pop-metal, though the power ballad “Third Time’s the Charm†would work well in a set with Poison’s “Every Rose Has its Thorn,†and the album closing “Johnny All Alone†has the length of an arena showcase.
Merle Haggard’s stardom as a live performer and country hit maker often obscures how many great albums he’s recorded. This 1977 release measures up to the excellence of his best work for Capitol, mixing biting originals and brilliantly selected covers from the catalogs of Hank Williams, the Delmore Brothers and others. Haggard’s musical range plays well here as he stretches out jazzily on “Blues Stay Away From Me†and adds the old-timey lilt of muted horns and clarinet to “Blues for Dixie.†He ponders mortality with “When My Last Song is Sung,†gives a gently woebegone performance as the distant parent of “Got a Letter From My Kid Today†and sings a moving tribute, “Goodbye Lefty,†constructed from Frizzell’s lyrics.
Alongside the 1910 Fruitgum Company, the Ohio Express was among the purest expressions of producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz’s bubblegum ethos. “Ohio Express†was used to name several different musical groups, including singles originally recorded by Rare Breed, a touring outfit originally called Sir Timothy & The Royals, and various aggregations of New York studio musicians fronted by the nasal vocals of singer/songwriter Joey Levine. It’s the latter group that hit with Levine’s “Yummy Yummy Yummy†(a song that plays “God Bless America†to the Archies’ national anthem, “Sugar Sugarâ€), and followed-up with the title track of this 1969 album. Levine would leave the group shortly after the album’s release, and still another edition of the Ohio Express, comprised of future members of 10cc, released the Graham Gouldman-penned “Sausalito (Is the Place to Go).â€
Like the best of the bubblegum groups, the Ohio Express fashioned nursery-rhyme lyrics, earworm pop melodies and sharp studio production into music as effervescent as it is devoid of intellectual calories. If you’re looking for scholarly heft, you need to look elsewhere, but if you want two-minutes-thirty-eight that can lift your mood, “Chewy Chewy†is a good bet. In addition to Levine’s originals, the group covered a pair of 1910 Fruitgum Company hits (“1, 2, 3 Red Light†and “Simon Says,†apparently with reused backing tracks), employing Partridge Family-styled harmony vocals and touches of organ. There’s light psych (“Let it Take Youâ€) and Tommy James-styled frat rock (“So Good, So Fineâ€), and though “Yes Sir†unashamedly borrows from “Yummy Yummy Yummy,†it shows that the hook still had life in it.
Gary Usher and the Challengers tune up some car songs
